Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Yarn.

I ordered some yarn for my recent 28th Birthday, and it just came today! Funny thing about it is that nearly all the yarn is for things I plan to make for other people.


This is the cotton "Dishie" yarn. I am hoping to invent something double knit with this. I know in my head what I want to make and how I want it to look, so we'll see how it turns out ;)


 More "Dishie" but different colors.


 These skeins are all "Comfy" fingering weight for sock making. All of these colors were on sale.


 Lastly here is the last skein of "Shine" to complete the dress for my 7-year-old along with my promotional free skein of "Brava." I'm not sure what I'll use the "Brava" yarn for, as it is 100% acrylic and I buy from Knit Picks to get something besides the locally available acrylic yarn. How could I turn down a free skein of yarn though?

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Socks in progress #3

Today is day 7 of my sock knitting. I had planned to post my progress daily, however that didn't work out so well. I am done with the instep and will be starting the gusset increases tonight. I really like the socks so far and hope to make another pair in a different color later.


Thursday, June 7, 2012

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Socks in progress #2

Just a quick photo of my progress :)

 Why can't I rotate my pic? Soooo annoying :(

Kid scarf.

My daughter completed her scarf several months ago, and I am just now getting around to posting about it.

The pink scarf is my 7-year-old's first crocheted project. You can see that the tension is a bit wonky in places, and the sides have some decreases and increases where there shouldn't be any, but I think it looks pretty good for a kids' first project. I helped her by making the flowers and the fringe, but the rest is all her work.

My daughter is currently working on another project, and I'll post on it when she is all finished.

Completed Project - kids shirt.

I recently finished the shirt for my younger daughter. I used the same Knit Picks CotLin yarn that I used for my eldest daughter's shirt, but this time I only used about 3 2/3 skeins of yarn. I used the "Lacy Heart Curtain" stitch allover for a fun and girly look. I continued the pattern up the straps and joined them using Kitchener stitch (grafting). I finished the shirt by crocheting a scalloped edge along the bottom. I think it turned out nice, and my daughter loves it, so mission accomplished!

I made the shirt long on purpose. The tunic-like length will hopefully allow her to get a couple years of wear out of it. In the pictures she has worn it all day and stretched the bottom quite a lot, but it seems to snap back and relax nicely after a whirl in the wash. I really do love that the yarn is so easy to care for. The more washes it goes through the nicer the drape and feel of the fabric become. Someday I may venture to make a shirt for myself out of the CotLin yarn, but not for a good long time ;)






Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Socks in progress.

Thought I'd follow my progress on a pair of socks for my husband. I cast on last night and am working on the toes today. I have included a picture of my progress around noon, then will have a second picture at the end of the day.

I am using size a 1 (2.50mm) 40" cable for magic loop method. The yarn is Knit Picks Comfy Fingering in the color "Whisker." The yarn is 75% Pima Cotton and 25% Acrylic. The yarn is super soft in hand and has a really pretty sheen to it. I can't wait to feel the finished socks!

I am using my favorite sock construction techniques with the double lattice stitch for the instep and leg of the sock. Someone somewhere has no doubt used this stitch for socks before, but I am not following any pattern. If I feel so inclined, I may make a pattern for these socks as I go.

This is the method I used to cast on. The method is called a Turkish cast on (magic loop is the technique using one circular needle instead of two, it does not refer to the cast on method used). Anyway, I like this method because it is very easy to do, easy to remember, and has a seamless look (plus it is comfy on the toes).

I have a cup of coffee next to me and E3 coverage on the TV... this has got to be the perfect set up for power knitting :)




UPDATE @ midnight

Here is my progress at the end of the day. As you can see, the toe section is complete and I have a few rounds of the stitch pattern complete. The yarn really makes the stitches pop. I hope to have enough done by the end of tomorrow to really show the stitch pattern clearly. Also note that the color is off in this second picture. The yarn appears to be more of a green than a silvery gray.